“Thank you, Loretta. You and your people have given us a tremendous new tool to aid in our defense of the G.A. Is there any other business we have to discuss in closed session?” Jenetta asked.
“What’s the story with the Ruwalchu?” Admiral Hillaire asked.
“Until now, the Ares has been patiently waiting for the Prime Minister to deliver the annexation petition. Larry Gavin has informed me there were three holdouts on the Gilesset, but the P.M. had promised he would deliver. We have the supervisor cyborg given to us by the Ruwalchu under lock and key in the Ares. Larry was waiting for the petition before sending a CPS to deliver the cyborg to Quesann. He didn’t want to tie up two CPSs for delivery runs of six months because he needs every ship he has. Larry promises that the Denubbewa will be on its way here within twenty-four hours, regardless of whether the petition has been delivered to the Ares or not.”
“And the situation that we’ve just begun to hear about in Gondusan territory?” Admiral Yuthkotl asked.
“Brian?” Jenetta said.
“As soon as we learned of the incident, I ordered a number of ships in Region Two to proceed to the border and investigate,” Admiral Holt answered. “We have one battleship, three destroyers, and two Scout-Destroyers currently searching for Denubbewa ships in G.A. space there. Additionally, five CPSs have been sent to search for and find the attacked freighter in Gondusan space, if they can, and destroy any and all Denubbewa vessels they encounter. To date, I’ve received no reports of any battle activity or even of any ships having reached their assigned territory. Of course, we’re still relying on S-Band communications for our contact with all of these ships. Once the battleship Pholus and the three destroyers, Duluth, Stuttgart, and Lima, receive their new com systems, we’ll have much more timely information, and they can relay messages from the Scout-Destroyers and CPSs. Loretta, we all know of the demands on your time and resources, but if you could try to have at least four of the new systems sent out with the next Quartermaster ship headed that way, it would really help.”
“They’re already on their way, Brian. Raihana, can you tell us when they’ll arrive at the Pholus?”
“I’ll check as soon as I get back to my office,” Admiral Ahmed said. “Has the Gondusan government been apprised of our incursion into their territory?”
“No,” Admiral Holt said, “our ships are cloaked in a double envelope so they can’t be detected, and at this point we don’t even know if this was a legitimate call for help or an attempted diversion by the Denubbewa who might have hoped we’d send all of our forces to the Gondusan territory, or at least enough to leave us short-handed. In a separate matter, I received a message just before I left my office that reports a possible incident in Region Three. We intercepted a message from a freighter who was reporting that he’s unable to get a response from anyone on the planet Husteus.”
“As I recall,” Admiral Burke said, “their Grand Princess refused to even consider becoming a G.A. member planet after we annexed the Uthlaro Empire, so they have no representation in the Senate. We don’t even have diplomatic contact with them. They wanted no part of the G.A.”
“Whether they desired it or not, they are part of the G.A. now so we owe them the basic protections from outside invasions afforded to all non-aligned planets within G.A. space,” Admiral Woo said, “even if they don’t contribute to the military funding of Space Command.”
“We’ve never had an incident where we stepped in to help a non-aligned planet,” Admiral Ressler said.
“We just stepped in to help protect a neighbor nation that rejected our efforts at diplomatic contact,” Admiral Woo said. “If we can help the Ruwalchu, we must help Husteus.”
“Lon is right,” Jenetta said. “We should help Husteus— if the problem deserves our attention.”
“What do you mean by ‘deserves our attention,’ Jen?” Admiral Woo asked.
“If the planet has been attacked by outside forces, we must step in. If the planet is engaged in internal strife, such as a civil war, they’re on their own. That’s not my rule. It’s part of the Galactic Alliance Charter. The first thing we must do is learn what’s going on. Do we have any ships in the area? Brian? Raihana?”
“Let me check,” Brian said as he activated his CT to contact his office.
“No Quartermaster ships within a thousand light-years at present, Jen,” Admiral Ahmed said. “Husteus is one of the most remote occupied planets in Region Three.”
“It’s the perfect target for an attack by the Denubbewa,” Admiral Holt said as he completed his call to his office. “It’ll take weeks for our ships to get there. The nearest ship we have right now, the destroyer Miami, is about ten to twelve days out. But it will take a month to get new orders to them to investigate. The next closest assets are a patrol group led by the Scout-Destroyer Koshi.”
“Christa’s ship and group?” Jenetta asked.
Admiral Holt nodded.
“For the Miami, it will be a month before they receive the orders, ten to twelve days of travel, a day to learn what they can, and then another month to report back,” Jenetta mused. “Two and a half months for the present system. Just thirteen days total once the new com system is in place. I’m not criticizing you or your people, Loretta. You’ve done an incredible job. I was just thinking aloud about what an incredible change the new com system is going to make. Brian can have the ship investigate and then report back to us. In two and a half months, we’ll know the story on Husteus.”
“In a couple of months the Denubbewa can have thoroughly subjugated the population and begun turning them into cyborgs,” Admiral Hillaire said. “Don’t mind me, I’m also thinking out loud. I have no better solution. I’m just frustrated that we’re often so impotent when dealing with the Denubbewa.”
“We’re making progress, Arnold,” Jenetta said. “The Denubbewa know how powerful we are, so they’re working to divide our forces and our attention. We mustn’t allow them to get the upper hand. The new com system will help tremendously, and we can still whip them in battle if we can get them to attack us directly.”
“I think they’ve learned their lesson in that regard,” Admiral Plimley said. “I think they’re going to keep nipping at our heels to wear us down while they try to learn the secrets of how our ships can go in and out of phase by using the double envelope.”
“We have to use the same battle plan against them,” Jenetta said. “We have to confront them and destroy them on multiple fronts wherever and whenever we can while working to learn all the secrets they’ve acquired in their centuries of taking over civilizations throughout the galaxy, or even the universe. What we really need is that Cosmic Jump Gate capable of sending an armada. With that, we’d be able to move our forces around to wherever we needed them, like chess pieces on a board. I know it’s going to take time because we have to crawl before we can walk and walk before we can run. But I refuse to entertain the idea that those metal-heads will ever beat us.”
“We already have the new com system in operation at the extreme limits of Region Three,” Admiral Plimley said. “You ordered it.”
“Of course,” Jenetta said as she remembered her request to Admiral Plimley. “We may not have ships with the new com system in that area, but we have seven new space stations that were designated to receive the new com system. Are they all operational, Loretta?”
“All seven of the original bulky com systems are fully operational. Newly designed hardware is on its way, but the original equipment works just as well as the new equipment.”
“Wonderful. Then let’s route the message to the new base closest to Husteus with instructions to forward it to the Miami. Perhaps we’ll have an answer to what’s happening on Husteus in under twenty days.”
“Since the Koshi is the next closest patrol group,” Admiral Burke said, “perhaps we should notify Christa of the situation with orders to stand by and be ready to jump in if needed.”
“That’s sounds like a good idea, Ray
mond,” Jenetta said. “Brian?”
“I’ll send a notification to her regarding the situation but inform her that it may be nothing.”
~ ~ ~
“Mr. Prime Minister, I regret to inform you that the Ares and our entire taskforce have been recalled from Ruwalchu space. The Denubbewa are allegedly attacking ships in Gondusan space and planets in Region Three. Space Command doesn’t want us sitting here waiting for a petition that may never come to us.”
“But Commander, you can’t leave us defenseless.”
“We have no choice. While we have no commitment to the Gondusans, we must protect the planets that are part of the G.A., even if they aren’t G.A-aligned planets. We must leave within the hour.”
“But I have all of the Gilesset members except one committed to the annexation on video, and they’ve signed the petition.”
“I’m sorry, but the requirement is that all members be committed to the annexation. That one member might as well be twenty. A petition with missing signatures and a vid with missing member allegiance promises will not be considered by the G.A. Senate.”
“How much time do I have?”
“None. We’re preparing to depart.”
“If I get the last Gilesset member to sign on, will you stay?”
“We’re out of time. We have to leave. I wish you well.”
“Commander, wait. Give me just one hour.”
“Do you really think that will make any difference? We’ve been here many weeks already after you told us all of the Gilesset favored the annexation.”
“If I deliver the petition and required supporting documentation, will you stay?”
“That’s up to Quesann. But they approved our waiting once.”
“So you’ll stay for the twenty weeks it will take for the message to reach Quesann and the answer to return?”
“It doesn’t take that long anymore. While we were waiting, we installed a new com system, so we don’t use the old S-Band system anymore for urgent communications.”
“It’s quicker? How long does it take with this new system?”
“No more than eighteen seconds in each direction.”
“Excuse me, I think I misunderstood— or perhaps my translation device is malfunctioning. Did you mean eighteen weeks because it sounded like you said eighteen seconds.”
“I did.”
“Great Protector, you mean it takes less than a third of a minute for a message to reach Quesann?”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
“That’s unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Uh— can we get such a system?”
“Right now, only a handful of ships have the brand new system installed. All of the most remote bases and the ships stationed in the most remote areas of G.A. space received the very first units.”
“Aren’t we the most remote area of G.A. space?”
“This is not G.A. space, Prime Minister.”
“Give me one hour and I promise you I’ll have the documents you require. You can even send your ship to the park so I can deliver it to you personally as soon as it’s ready.”
“You’re that confident?”
“I am.”
“Okay, I know I can talk my captain into waiting just one more hour, but that’s all. We don’t want to be court-martialed for failure to follow orders.”
“I promise you on the book of the Great Protector that I will have the petition and supporting documentation ready for you.”
“Very well, Prime Minister. I’ll see you in one hour. Commander Eliza Carver out.”
Eliza took a deep breath and sighed as she leaned back and relaxed into the oh-gee chair, then turned the desktop screen back towards Captain Gavin.
“Good job, Eliza,” Gavin said.
“Thank you, sir. He sounded desperate. I think he’ll finally deliver.”
“If he does, then whether we stay or go will be up to Quesann.”
“What’s your best guess?”
“I think Quesann will tell me to assign one Scout-Destroyer and half a dozen CPS-16s to patrol Ruwalchu space, and order the rest of us back to Region Three.”
“That sounds like a safe bet. Do you think I should head down to the planet now?”
“Yes. If this falls through, we don’t want them to be able to blame us for failing to make the meeting. We said an hour, but give him ninety minutes. If he fails to show up, come on back and we’ll leave orbit. This is his last chance to come through. Personally, I’m not all that excited about taking on a new chunk of territory as large as the Uthlaro Dominion when Jen annexed it. And we’ve added all the unclaimed space between Region One, the Milori Empire, the Tsgardi Kingdom, and the Uthlaro Dominion so we have one contiguous section of space. We have so much territory to patrol now, it’s not getting the coverage it should. And we don’t have nearly enough ships and crews to improve the situation.”
“We couldn’t ignore the Ruwalchu calls for help before, and we can’t leave them defenseless now.”
“We can— if they fail to present the annexation petition.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out if that’s going to happen. I should be back within two hours, sir.”
~ ~ ~
“How much longer are we gonna keep searching, Skipper?” Helmsman Lieutenant (jg) Ving Villobo asked the captain of the CPS-16 Freedom’s Child.
“Until Quesann tells us to stop searching,” Lieutenant Jules Harford responded.
“But there’s nothing out here. We’ve completed a dozen search grids in the past two weeks and we haven’t seen a single ship, moving or stationary.”
“We look until they tell us to stop looking, Ving. Period.”
“Okay, Skipper.”
“Skip, I just got a hit,” the tac officer said, “but it was at the extreme edge of our DeTect range so I’ve lost it already.”
“Was it a ship?”
“I couldn’t tell what it was. It might have been a ship— or it might have been a small asteroid. It popped onto the screen and then popped off when we went out of range an instant later.”
“Helm, take us back along our previous route at half speed. Tac, tell Helm when to change course so we can check out the contact.”
“Yes, sir,” both officers said.
A minute later the tac officer said, “There it is on our starboard side down sixteen degrees. The range is about four billion kilometers. Uh, it’s gone again— out of range. It appeared to be stationary.”
“Helm?”
“Changing course to intercept, Skipper.”
Two minutes and five seconds later, after correcting their course twice, the bridge crew of Freedom’s Child was looking at a freighter with half a dozen large holes in its hull.
“This has to be what Quesann sent us to find,” Lt. Harford said. “Or one just like it.”
“But there’s no cargo section,” the tac officer said. “Weren’t we told that the message came from a freight handler who was reported to be in the maintenance section amidship?”
“I suppose whoever attacked the ship stole the cargo section.”
“Weren’t the Denubbewa doing that in Region Two at one time?” the helmsman asked.
“I believe it was in Region Two— but it might have been in Region Three. I can’t remember exactly.”
“So do we board her, Skip?” the tac officer asked.
“No. First of all, the ship is probably glowing with radioactivity. Secondly, we’d have to drop our double envelope, which would make us visible to anyone else who happens by. Let’s just report the find and see what they want us to do. Com?”
“I’m on it, sir.”
A minute later the com chief said, “Message sent to the Pholus.”
“Now we just relax and wait,” Lt. Harford said. “The message will take about six days to get to the Pholus just over the border in Region Two G.A. space. If they’ve got the new com system installed, it’s eighteen seconds to Quesann, then eighteen seconds back to the Pholus once H
Q makes a decision, then six days to reach us via S-Band.”
“Why can’t we have the new com system, Skipper?” the helmsman asked. “It would save twelve days.”
“We’ll get it, Ving. It’s brand new and they can’t possibly retrofit the entire fleet overnight. Since we’re just a CPS-16, we’re a bit further down the priority list than the big warships like Pholus and the destroyers. But everyone’s going to get it. Imagine talking to the folks back home on Earth like we were calling from Mars. I’m as anxious as you.”
“I’ve heard we won’t be able to use the new system for personal messages,” the com chief said. “Space Command business only.”
“That stinks,” the helmsman said.
“Relax, Ving,” Harford said. “It’s probably just until they work all the bugs out of the new system. Eventually, the S-Band system will be retired and become as antiquated as AM and FM signals.”
“I’m sure you’re right, Skipper,” the com chief said, “and that day can’t come soon enough.”
* * *
Chapter Eighteen
~ September 3rd, 2292 ~
“I’ve received a message from Captain Gavin aboard the Ares,” Admiral Holt said during the regular meeting of the A.B. underway in the large Admiralty Board Hall. “He reports that the Ruwalchu Prime Minister has finally delivered the annexation petition. All Gilesset members have signed the document and, in a brief one-minute interview, each member has confirmed their unwavering support of the annexation request on behalf of the citizens they represent. The documentation has been placed aboard a CPS-16 to be delivered here to Quesann, along with a cyborg to be delivered to the Intelligence Section. Additionally, the ship is transporting a representative of the Ruwalchu people who’s prepared to answer any questions we or the G.A. Senate might have. The ship should arrive here in about five and a half weeks.”
“Excellent,” Jenetta said. “We’ll have to arrange diplomatic quarters for him or her for the length of their stay.”
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